Q. What is Lemon Tree doing for the employees with disabilities?
A. Lemon Tree Hotels (LTH) is an equal opportunities employer. We follow a proactive EWD (employees with disability) policy – we do not approach disability retrospectively but actually induce and encourage such employment. Our objective is to have at least 10 per cent of our employees who are EWDs, and our vision is to have a hotel fully run by EWDs. Currently five to six per cent of our staff are EWDs.
We began by inducting EWDs in back-end operations such as kitchen stewarding and housekeeping, where direct guest interaction is minimal. This gave us an opportunity to develop standard operating procedures and training modules to build an environment where EWDs were able to deliver results in a desired manner.
Subsequently, we extended this initiative to key guest contact areas like our restaurants. Here, interaction with guests is key to deliver a great dining experience.
Q. What steps has your organisation taken to ensure that the workplace is disabled friendly?
A. We have bagged A number of awards for the sensitivity to design and accessibility for both employees and guests with disabilities. LTH has won the prestigious Svayam Accessibility and Universal Design Award 2012 for initiatives in providing seamless access to differently abled and people with limited mobility in our hotels. Apart from the physical dimension of making the workplace conducive for EWDs, our policies also make a big difference. A few workplace policies that are an integral part of this initiative include:
• Training to regular staff to ensure that all key personnel in the hotel are trained on the most commonly used signs to communicate with EWDs.
• We have provided whistles to all EWDs that can be used at the time of an emergency.
• Though all employees are competent in sign language, we engage an expert to help with one-on-one chats or exit interviews with EWDs.
• We try to recruit EWDs who live close to our hotels since commuting can cause them discomfort.
Q. How do you effectively exploit the unique qualities of such employees? Please give three ways in which an organisation can benefit from the qualities that disabled employees possess?
A. The key strategy is to impart relevant employability skills to EWDs in those job roles where their disability is not a disadvantage. They can then be employed routinely and on an equal footing with other employees, which is the only sustainable policy in the long run. For example, in our housekeeping department, disabled employees have been trained in tailoring skills to perform tailoring functions that resulted in increased productivity. Apart from that, EWDs exhibit higher loyalty towards the organisation and their attrition rates are significantly lower.
Q. What are the workplace benefits of including disability issues in corporate diversity policies?
A. Disability issues are intrinsic to corporate diversity policies because we deal with special people and special situations. So, it is not only natural to include such policies within the ambit of corporate diversity but also enriching to the organisation.
Q. What should be the strategy for successfully incorporating persons with disabilities into the workplace?
A. It is fundamentally all about preparation. First, the policies must be defined. Then the practices must be amenable to those policies. And finally, the transition must be carefully mapped. All this requires commitment to the idea of promoting EWDs within the organisation. It takes a lot of learning and modulating before a practical, sustainable long-term practice emerges.
Q. What successes have you realised through the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of the business?
A. One of the biggest gains is that the acceptance of people with disabilities in our system has gained momentum. At our Bengaluru hotel, a guest was served by one of our employee with disability. The guest was emotionally overwhelmed. He expressed his desire to keep the business card that was shown to him. He wanted this card to show it to others and showcase our hotel and the work we are doing. This validation is going a long way in altering attitudes and behaviour of people at large.
Q. Are there any special outreach and recruitment efforts on your organisation’s part to encourage such people?
A. As part of the hiring process for people with disabilities, we engage the service of an expert in Indian sign language. This helps candidates express and present a true picture of who they are and what drives them. We also conduct a preliminary counselling session with the candidate’s parents or guardian (non-disabled) to understand the candidate better. Candidates can also have a free interaction through sign language with present employees to understand the job profile better.
